Enterprises North West Top Helm event at Southport Sailing Club

Enterprise North West Top Helm event at Southport © John Nield

On Sunday the 5th of November, 10 Enterprises arrived at a very sunny Southport Sailing Club for the North West Top Helm event - The November Plate, which is the final event of the series. We were greeted with a chilly north to north westerly wind, blowing from 15mph and gusting up to 20, which eased throughout the day.

Race 1

The competitors finally made it to the start line having avoided the cold air for as long as possible. The race was underway after waiting for all of the sailors to arrive at the starting area. Alan Burton-Roberts and sister Diane Thomas (Pilkington) nailed the start and led the way up the first beat, followed very closely by Steve Blackburn & Royston Taggart (WLYC) and Tim Harper & Gabe Hill (WLYC). After a tack to make the windward mark, Alan and Diane decided to check the water temperature for the rest of the fleet after losing their rudder mid tack. Steve and Tim had a brief dual for the first lap, with Steve eventually taking up the lead and gaining the first bullet of the day. Andrew Ashworth & Molly Nixon (WLYC) came in 2nd with Tim Harper taking 3rd after making up ground on the fleet after an altercation.

Race 2

Matt Johnson & Hannah Saddler (Weirwood) arrived at the windward mark first. However, an incident of their own making saw them lose control and miss the next mark, before sailing 360 degrees back through the fleet to find a position to slot back into. By the end of lap one, Andrew Ashworth took and held the lead to the finish, followed by fellow WLYC members Roy & Linda Kissick, with Clive Porter crewed by India Lane taking 3rd. The racing was very close and it was very difficult to overtake during the race due to the course, direction of the wind and the start - which had a good starboard bias.

We headed into the comforts of the sailing club for dinner, which was either burgers and fries or jacket potatoes with various toppings.

Enterprise North West Top Helm event at Southport - photo © John Nield

Race 3

As we are now in November, the sunlight was low in the sky and starting to dazzle, but this didn't stop Matt and Hannah creating a superior start and taking the lead to win the final race. Andrew took another 2nd and with his good consistency also won the November Plate! Alan and Diane came home 3rd, with a 4th overall, Steve & Roy with a 4th, and a 2nd overall, and Roy and Linda Kissick (WLYC) taking 5th and 3rd overall.

Overall Results:

As this was the last event of the North West Top Helm Series, this meant Steve Blackburn & his crews; Royston Taggart, Ian Richie and Molly Nixon won this year’s series. In 2nd overall and taking the Silver Award for the highest placed boat in the silver fleet was Mark Nields & Jackie Finch (Chester). Last year’s winner Paul Young & various crews took 3rd. That caps another season complete on the NW circuit in which 110 sailors took part throughout the whole series.

North West Top Helm Series 2017 Results: